Kim Shook

Heels, edges, crusts for me too. I love the edge pan and wish someone would come up with a doughnut pizza with crusts on either end!

Kim, After all of your great photos and the recommendations of many here, I have purchased and received my first order of Benton's Bacon. Yesterday I made bacon, fried eggs, toast and sliced grape tomatoes for my MIL, brother and myself AND a BLT for my husband (the only way he appreciates bacon....can you believe it?????). The bacon was very thick and smokey but I found it a bit salty. It was greatly enjoyed but there are situations that I would appreciate less saltiness. Do you think that it may have been just that batch? Would blanching it first remove some of that saltiness?? Thanks, Donna ← Donna - It is salty - we never need salt on our eggs when I serve them with Benton's . I don't think that it would hurt a bit to blanch it. You do that with country ham and the bacon is very close to that in flavor, I think. Try it with one or two pieces and then see what you think. We gave it to our dads for Father's day and they both thought that it was too salty and Mr. Kim's dad said that they prefer supermarket bacon ... ... I can see finding it too salty - but can you imagine preferring the taste (or lack thereof ) of supermarket bacon now that you've tasted Benton's? We don't even buy Neuske's anymore, which we used to love.

Not sure if you celebrate Christmas but, if so, those plates come in very handy on Christmas morning. Seems like the grownups are always sitting around sleepy-eyed watching the youngsters tear through the gifts. Those plates are perfect for holding a 'little something' like coffee cake or toast while balancing a cup of coffee or juice. ← I never would have thought of that! What a great idea. Now I have to figure out where they are !

Scrambled eggs w/ chives and Gruyere, Benton's bacon, tots and the coffee cake that Maggie describes in her wonderful essay in The Daily Gullet: I've been looking at my recent pictures, and I need to make some ham or sausage soon - we've been eating a lot of bacon.

The wonderful coffee cake that Maggie describes in "Swans and Streudel": I was reading about it this morning and 45 minutes later I was pulling this coffee cake out of the oven. So easy and really, really good!

Ohhhh....must have this recipe..can you please share? ← French Onion Bread Pudding.

Maggie - I just found this and read it about 30 minutes ago. The coffee cake is in my oven right now. I got the coffee pot ready, too. So all I have to do when Mr. Kim and Jessica stumble down the stairs is hit the button and put the coffee cake and butter on on table. What a lovely vignette you gave us. I can just picture your mother and those ladies. I have a set of those luncheon plates and cups somewhere. My grandmother gave them to me - she worked and didn't 'lunch'. I was born in the wrong decade, because I kept them in my kitchen cabinets for years (even through college!) thinking the occasion to use them would surely come up. Sadder, but wiser, they are now somewhere in a forgotten corner of one of the attics. ETA: Delectable!!!!

Shaya – those buns are gorgeous! I have that book and can’t wait to have some time to play with it! MiFi – that sausage meal is just a beautiful fall dinner! My dad and stepmom were in town last night on their way to Florida. Dinner started with pimento cheese, crackers and pickles: Short ribs with caramelized onions: This was so delicious - I used my recipe for lamb shanks with caramelized onions, with some adjustments for the short ribs. Marlene’s bleu cheese dressing with iceberg wedges: Brussels sprouts with pancetta: Marlene’s crispy smashed potatoes: French onion bread pudding: So incredible! When I made it before, we liked it a lot, but thought it would be even better with gravy. Well, with the sauce for the short ribs, it was really over the top delicious! Thanks again to lucylou for the recipe! For dessert, I decided on peanut butter pie: very simple and good and one of the only desserts that my dad will eat (sans chocolate for him).

Dessert last night was peanut butter pie: Plain and good. I melted some PB and swirled it into the filling and topped with roasted, salted peanuts. I just love that shot of salty with something sweet. This was made especially for my dad, the dessert hater. He loved it – he likes precisely two desserts now – this pie and coconut cream pie. Served for everyone but Daddy:

They look delicious anyway! Did you sift the powdered sugar? That could be the problem, if you didn't. Otherwise, not a clue.

Prawn and MiFi are just killing me with the carbonara - I have to have that soon!!! Last night was Robin Miller's (Food TV) Melt-In-Your-Mouth BBQ'd Ribs, southern beans, ziti with sour cream & Parm and slaw: We really liked the sauce - it was unusual. Not smoky or too spicy, but it was tangy and the combination of spices was really good. Dessert was a brownie mix fix up that I got from Randi's blog. Just brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli) with Symphony bars baked between the layers of batter: These were just so good! I really like the Ghirardelli mix - it's the second best I've ever tried (the Barefoot Contessa brand is the best) and I don't mind using it at all if I don't have time to make from scratch.

Randi! I made the those brownie mix/Symphony brownies from your blog . They were so good. I brought them to work and they have just been scarfed up. Someone even recognized the 'recipe' !

Nancy - those are some awesome pancakes!! I especially love the inside view! What is hickory syrup like?

TACO FLAVORED DORITOS ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited. They are in a very dark bag that says "They're back by popular demand" and also "For a limited time" . Why? There are entire websites with petitions that you can sign calling for the return of them. So why doesn't Frito Lay want to sell them? Anyway, they are here for now. I will begin gorging now.

Wonderful! Keeping in mind what you said about burgers being basically fast food at home and people not getting that burgers can be great food, how did they go over with your parents? Or had you already converted them ?

Yes, just glue. I found a craft glue the works on everything and is dishwasher-safe. I just hope it holds!

I was too lazy to type it all out. Its Dec 05!! ← Thank you, ma'am - I'll look for it!

Rob – loved the blueberry-lemon curd tarts – one of my favorite flavor combinations! Lisa – I went straight to your blog and printed out your recipe for that Choc-PB tart. My mom says that if God made anything better than chocolate, He kept it for Himself – if you added peanut butter to that saying, I’d agree completely. I cannot wait to make that, but will say right now, mine will not be nearly as gorgeous as yours! Well done! Randi – I like the whole idea of the Black Forest Cake – the flavors, the ability to make it ahead and the layers. I didn’t see the recipe on your blog – I probably have the issue, if you’ll tell me which one its in. Shelby – The cupcakes look delicious and I love the liners, too! These are some cupcakes that I was trying out to make for the kids in our family for Halloween: They were Caramel-Apple Cupcakes. Just applesauce-spice cake with caramel topping. Very good cake – tight crumb and very light. They were amazingly easy to make and had a nice little dome on them.

Sabrosita – I love the pho idea! I also like Lilija’s idea of including bowls. What I’d do is stack 4 bowls together, put the ingredients in the top bowl and tie them together with a gorgeous bow. Lilija – I think that candy works great as a gift – most people manage some kind of cookies, but not candy – that would be a real treat. Also, fudge freezes really well, you could make it anytime now and have it done. Susan – re: the peach ‘syrup’, I bottle ‘syrup’ every time that I make pear preserves – the end of the pot never has much in the way of fruit, but I’m not willing to sacrifice that glorious nectar and everyone loves it on waffles, ice cream, etc. Sometimes I’ll add a little extra seasoning (ginger, five spice – even a little hot pepper) and boil it down some more and use it to glaze ham or pork. I finished those appetizer picks that I mentioned: Just turkey lacers with beads. I liked how they turned out.

Shaya - so nice to "see" you! That pork bun looks amazing! Daniel - that steak house dinner made me so hungry. It is just perfect. Creamed spinach is actually why I go to steakhouses (that and Oyster Rockefeller ) - mine never tastes as good as theirs! Bridgestone - ANOTHER amazing steak! Just gorgeous! Shelby - Lovely canning - I don't think I'm going to get to much of that this fall, somehow. Although Mr. Kim would kill for those jalepenos! MiFi - what's that cool looking pasta under the lamb ragu? The 'salad' last night was tomatoes, some of the last of summer's marinated cucumbers and some huge, crunchy radish slices. I had leftover meatloaf and made meatloaf sandwiches with bbq sauce and frizzled onions on garlic cheese bread. Also roasted potatoes. I've done this sandwich a few times. We love cold meatloaf sandwiches, but this is a nice change:

Wonderful! I am so jealous of both Klary and Rob ! I am going straight to the report and read now!

← Thank you so much, Pal! I think that even though it didn't specify, this recipe was meant for the larger sheets. I've got a ton of phyllo left, so next time I'll just use a lot more sheets! It did taste good - it just needed more flakiness in the pastry .

Ilana and Percyn - Thanks for the good wishes, I'll pass them on. He's just been amazed at all the eGulleteers that have sent wishes for his recovery! He's doing very well considering that he had major surgery just a couple of weeks ago. He's up and around and all the results of the tests have been good. I haven't been cooking much since then, but I did manage breakfast yesterday. We had Cheddar-chive scrambled eggs (with that lovely bacon salt you recommended, Percyn ), Benton's bacon, fruit and chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's (we are very, very happy to have a Whole Food and a Trader Joe's open near us in the last month!): Percyn - Mr. Kim would lose his mind over that corned beef hash! It is his absolute favorite breakfast and what he always orders. Usually it's just ok, but occasionally at a really good brunch, we'll get a good one, but never as lovely as yours! And with a perfect poached egg on top! Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians! Have a wonderful, delicious day!

Plating of meals in restaurants seems to change as often as styles in the rest of the world. I remember when everything - apps, mains and desserts was stacked as high as possible, with swords of something edible stuck through the tower so that it could make it to table without toppling. Visually stunning, but hard to eat. I don't know what chefs are doing everywhere else, but in my area everyone seems to be doing the same thing and I'm tired of it. Big giant plates with a squiggle or smear of sirachi (does sirachi really go with everything?) and a littering of anonymous vegetable and herb bits. I'm ready for the next thing. So, restaurant folks, stylists - what's up? What are people in NY and SF and elsewhere more cosmopolitan than Richmond, VA seeing? Maybe a retro plate? A lemon half in net panties and a big wad of curly parsley?

I just bought Bittman Takes on America’s Chefs. I haven't finished reading it yet or cooked anything from it. From my perusal, it seems interesting and well written and the chefs are wonderful ones. All good. Except for the photos. They are distractingly bad. Bad color, not in focus, etc. Sometimes you can't even tell what you are looking at. In one shot, I was convinced I was looking at chicken with butter beans and they ended up being olives. The photos reminded me of the ones you find in those old series books. This is a $25 book by a famous, accomplished cookbook author involving chefs who are established and very much the real deal. How do you put out a book with such lousy pictures? Did I end up getting a flawed copy somehow? The text is fine. Anyone else seen this book and notice this?